Nokia has been testing drones for use in cell tower maintenance. Now, the carrier is partnering with the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to develop an end-to-end ecosystem to allow businesses and government agencies in that country to operate drones in what both say will be a safe, secure and managed environment.
The project is part of an initiative by the GCAA to make Dubai one of the world’s smartest cities in 2017, and will allow Dubai government security network operator Nedaa to develop a next-generation network for mission-critical and smart city services within the GCAA regulatory framework, Nokia and the GCAA announced.
At the heart of the ecosystem is Nokia’s drone Traffic Management concept; it’s being developed to manage the devices in and around cities, and coordinate their actions with people, manned aircraft and connected devices.
Nokia says its drone Traffic Management system will provide capabilities such as automated flight permissions, no-fly zone control and beyond-visual-line-of-sight that are critical for the safe operation of drones in densely populated areas. The system will also provide a testing ground for various applications of drone technology.
The carrier is leveraging its expertise in 4G LTE and developing 5G technology, including planning and optimizing its network for drone connectivity and integrating that to other platforms. “The system will be able to monitor airspace and flight paths, and share data between UAVs, operators and air traffic controllers and establish no-fly zones that can be continually refreshed with the latest data,” states Nokia.
The project will help the UAE; rogue drones have brought several UAE airports to a standstill this year, reports AMEinfo.
November 23, 2016
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